Various death care display systems are known in the art. The more primitive of such systems consist of a casket display rack or support. See, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,937,768 which discloses a two-tiered casket display rack having a rigid C-shaped frame-like structure for the display of two caskets--one casket supported above another.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,017 discloses a more contemporary casket display system for full caskets. The display system of the '017 patent includes a two-tiered casket display rack retractable by means of a scissors unit which, in turn, is connected to a rod. The display rack of the '017 patent is not an integral part of the casket display system.
While the casket display system of the '017 patent offers a more serene setting than the primitive systems of the prior art, as set forth in the '768 patent, it does not permit the display of all merchandise used in the funeral and death care industry especially relating to burial vaults and urns. In addition, it does not permit the display of adornment accessories for death care merchandise. In particular, the showing of burial vaults is problematic due to the fact that their size must exceed the size of a casket. Thus, the display of burial vaults is more suited to the display of miniatures.
The need exists therefore for a display system which permits the exhibition of a greater volume and a greater type of death related merchandise at greater ease for the prospective purchaser. However, with displays of miniatures, adornments on them will not be plainly visible to the casual observer. Therefore, a display unit capable of showing numerous miniatures of death care merchandise along with full size adornments is needed.